http://www.marconews.com/staff/leslie_hale/<p>Leslie was not born a Tar Heel, but she spent most of her life in the great state of North Carolina, growing up in the mountains of Asheville where she developed a love for hiking, biking, kayaking and camping. After graduating from high school, she struck across the state for Chapel Hill, where she spent four years studying journalism and anthropology, as well as men's basketball between the months of November and March.</p> <p>Soon after her spring 2007 graduation, Leslie arrived in Naples to begin covering city government on Marco Island for the Marco Eagle, part of the Naples News Media Group. There, she covered city council elections amid a controversial project to replace the island's aging septic tanks with sewers, a political issue that pitted islander against islander.</p> <p>In 2008, Leslie moved to the Naples office to take over coverage of the transportation and growth beat. Major issues during her time covering transportation and growth include the state's efforts to lease Alligator Alley to a private entity, at the heart of one of her first assignments on the beat. At the start of 2009, Leslie began covering education in Lee County, entering the scene just as budget discussions struck up surrounding fears of a looming deficit that threatens to change the landscape of public education.</p> <p>While not working, Leslie enjoys reading, running, playing tennis with comical ineptitude and camping during the two months of the year when the weather allows it in Southwest Florida.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.facebook.com/ndnleslie">■ Become Leslie's Facebook friend</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="https://twitter.com/NDN_lhale/">■ Give Leslie a tweet</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/leslie-williams/14/263/34b ">■ Get LinkedIn with Leslie</a></strong></p> <p>Swing by some of Leslie's favorite Web sites:</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.npr.org/">■ For your NPR fix when you don't have a radio handy</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.imdb.com/">■ For when you can't remember the name of that actor in that movie you saw ages ago</a></strong></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.omnomnomnom.com/">■ For when you need a quick laugh to keep you moving through your day</a></strong></p>en-ushttp://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/01/college-suicide-second-leading-cause-death-student/College suicide: Second-leading cause of student death hits home in Southwest Florida Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0000http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2012/jan/01/college-suicide-second-leading-cause-death-student/http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jul/22/boardwalk-vanderbilt-beach-park-collier-warn-sign/Vanderbilt Beach boardwalk aging, but park improvements coming next year - PHOTOSSat, 23 Jul 2011 00:34:00 -0000http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jul/22/boardwalk-vanderbilt-beach-park-collier-warn-sign/http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jul/18/David-Lounsbury-FGCU-professor-fired-reinstatement/Fired FGCU professor Lounsbury should be reinstated with back pay, judge rulesMon, 18 Jul 2011 16:51:00 -0000http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jul/18/David-Lounsbury-FGCU-professor-fired-reinstatement/http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/16/fgcu-reorganize-Whitaker-School-Engineering-Health/FGCU reorganizing, creating new schools, combining othersSat, 16 Jul 2011 20:00:00 -0000http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/16/fgcu-reorganize-Whitaker-School-Engineering-Health/http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jul/12/fgcu-professors-fate-still-air/Fired FGCU professor's fate still up in the airTue, 12 Jul 2011 15:29:00 -0000http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jul/12/fgcu-professors-fate-still-air/http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/10/David-Lounsbury-FGCU-professor-fired-reinstatement/Fired FGCU professor’s reinstatement case heads to trial TuesdaySun, 10 Jul 2011 19:00:00 -0000http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/10/David-Lounsbury-FGCU-professor-fired-reinstatement/http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/01/edison-state-college-campus-land-bonita-springs/Edison weighs Bonita Springs site, expanding main campus to adjacent landSat, 02 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0000http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/01/edison-state-college-campus-land-bonita-springs/http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jun/29/wgcu-prepares-500000-budget-cuts-audience-shouldnt/WGCU prepares for $500,000 budget cuts; audience shouldn’t noticeWed, 29 Jun 2011 23:20:00 -0000http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jun/29/wgcu-prepares-500000-budget-cuts-audience-shouldnt/http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jun/28/edison-state-trustees-approve-tuition-increase-sta/Edison State trustees approve tuition increase, staff raisesWed, 29 Jun 2011 01:11:00 -0000http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jun/28/edison-state-trustees-approve-tuition-increase-sta/http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/26/paid-unpaid-internships-department-labor-fgcu-jobs/Getting schooled: Labor law crackdown affects businesses, student internsSun, 26 Jun 2011 22:10:00 -0000http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/26/paid-unpaid-internships-department-labor-fgcu-jobs/